FfW Bulgarian report (English language) - Fit for Work Europe

3.2
The impact of
MSDs on ability
to work
Work and MSDs in Bulgaria
20
At the same time, as mentioned above, there does not seem to be any consistency in linking
these figures with the specific occupational diseases of the official occupational diseases list.
There is little evidence that reporting of diseases has been aligned to this list and there is only
patchy data about the prevalence of a narrow range of MSDs. This is a troubling picture for a
number of reasons:
• It is impossible to be accurate about the economic consequences of MSDs, their
productivity impact or their social costs to the nation, to its workers and to their families.
• If, as is likely, the prevalence of MSDs increases as the average age of the Bulgarian
workforce increases, the absence of good baseline data today makes forecasting the
future impact of MSDs very difficult.
• Poor data makes it difficult to make a compelling case for action to Bulgarian employers
or to Bulgarian policy-makers.
• The benefits of clinical, labour market or workplace interventions are made all the more
difficult to quantify (or justify) if there are no reliable or comprehensive data on the
extent or impact of MSDs in the Bulgarian workforce.
Despite this, The Work Foundation is confident that there is sufficient evidence in Bulgaria to
argue strongly for MSDs to be a policy priority in the coming years. Experience from economies
with older age distributions indicates that the burden of MSDs can have significant economic
and social consequences. Bulgaria must stand ready to anticipate and manage the almost
certain increase in the numbers of MSDs in the coming years, particularly among individuals of
working age.
The impact of MSDs on individuals and their ability to work varies significantly from person
to person. Attempts to measure relative work disability differ according to methods of data
collection, respondent selection and definitions of work disability. Work disability usually refers
to cessation of employment, reduced working hours or claiming of disability benefits. These
estimates rarely include estimations of lost productivity whilst at work.
MSDs, as outlined in Section 2, can be specific or non-specific. The effects of specific MSDs are
discussed below with particular reference to RA and spondyloarthropathies (SpA). Other, largely
non-specific, MSDs are described in relation to two main categories, back pain and work-related
upper limb disorders. The effects of pain from MSDs can thus impact on the following aspects of
one’s performance at work:
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